Los Angeles is a big city and the possibility of "making it" often seems so remote that it is very easy to lose sight of what you want most. A simple example from my life this evening:
I want to watch The Fountain to escape and be entertained. However, what I want most is to travel around the world making a film with my friend Gabriel.
To do what I want most I have to save money so that I can continue to pay rent in LA. Thus, I need to stop watching The Fountain, take my laptop to Starbucks and get some work done.
Try to evaluate your wants against what you want most at some point. You may be suprised at just how far off-track you can get yourself doing things that seem right.
This evening I went to Upright Citizens Brigade to watch Amy Poehler do some improv. If I was to judge this evening against my expectations, I would be sorely disappointed. Instead I was treated to a joyous experience - I got to see a group of incredibly talented improvisers play and sing songs that meant something to them.
There are few things worse (in performance) than bad improv. The performers look and feel a lot like I did when I got pantsed in the 7th grade in front of all the girls I had crushes on. The thing that I love about UCB is that most of the performers are so battle-worn that they are relaxed nearly to the point of indifference.
Seeing these zen-master improvisers step out of their comfort zones to sing to a packed house was beautiful. Their voices weren't perfect, their eyes were cast at the ground, and they often forgot to plug in their amp cables - but it was evident that they loved what they were doing and even though they were terrified they were doing their thing.
Paul Rust sang a great original piece about sharing a first kiss in a bedroom populated with hand-me-down furniture. Amy Poehler sang a gorgeous rendition of Blue Bayou. However, the singular moment of the evening was when Sean Conroy sang Johnny Cash's version of NIN's "Hurt". At first the audience giggled, "Surely he wouldn't try to fill those shoes?! It must be a joke." But it quickly became clear that he was singing this song in earnest. The laughter stopped, the crowd fell quiet, and then collectively leaned in. Everyone telepathically agreed that this was something special, a ballsy attempt that should be honored. Sean Conroy may not have had the gravitas of Johnny Cash, but for this evening he was our man in black.
Seeing these talented improvisers work in another medium really humanized them and inspired the heck out of me. Just be glad you aren't my neighbors listening to me howling like a hound-dog along with my out-of-tune ukulele.
Per the advice of my manager and my gut I decided not to sign with [unnamed talent agency]. They weren't a SAG signatory, which meant that their contract left much to be desired. The standard commission for talent agents is 10%, these gents wanted 15% plus any monies set aside for "representation" in any performance contract. Here's a breakdown of just how ugly that could get:
I book a SAG day-player role, I will earn: $759 + 10% for Representation -10% above the line for [unnamed talent agency]. -15% below the line for [unnamed talent agency]. -15% for my manager. -33% for federal and state taxes.
= $280 out of an initial $834.90
In other words, I could be earning a really great living - but this agency would take so much of it that I'd only see about a third of it. All this just to have someone else submit my photo to casting directors. Thank you, but no.
Last night I made the standard 10 minute walk to my car, only to discover it missing and in its place a freshly paved road. My car, no doubt, had been towed. This morning I retrieved it from the city impound lot - $187 in towing fees, plus $50 for the parking violation. In my defense, there are normally no parking restrictions on the street, so I didn't think to look for parking signs related to last-minute roadwork. Regardless, It was an expensive mistake in a month where I'm already having a hard time putting together enough money to cover essentials and classes.
However, what started as a pretty crappy day got decidedly better when a boutique agency offered to represent me across the board. Nothing has been signed yet, and I don't want to voice too much publicly until I've sorted out the details, but expect and update on this subject some time in the next week.
I've updated my demo reel, I'm now on version 3. I've ditched all of my previous footage and I'm instead using new tape from "Weed Killer". I feel much better about this than my previous reel - it's more indicative of where I'm at as an actor. Now I just need to get some solid comedy footage together so that I can have something other than the hyper-dramatic acting so often found in short films.
I've embedded my reel below, but if you don't see it, you can view it here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncTAt9HhbtM
Also, I need your help. Please vote in the following poll so that I know how to arrange the clips:
A couple weeks ago, my entire family descended upon Los Angeles for Memorial Day weekend. The best thing about family visiting, outside of getting to see them of course, is that they'll often foot the tab when you go out to brunch. Such was my scheming when I suggested that we go to Fred 62's, a great 24hr diner run by a crack-team of short order cooks and punk-rock waitresses.
My family, Emily, and I got into an uproarious discussion as is our want, and at some point San Francisco popped up as a point of conversation. It was at this time that the substantial man enjoying a breakfast of eggs Benedict next to us interjected with "I love San Francisco."
The man expressing his ardor for the foggy city reminded me a lot of Will Smith's dad in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." He had the same stately presence and Yale-ey affect to his voice. This makes perfect sense, because this man and the actor who played Phillip Banks are one in the same: James Avery.
He essentially joined our table in conversation for the rest of the meal. We ended up talking about horrible high-concept Shakespeare modernizations and brilliant stripped-down plays with little more than actors and words. Mr. Avery also talked about how much he enjoyed his undergraduate work at UC San Diego, and that many of his classmates left to NY to do theater while he opted to move to LA to try and make a living as an actor. Given over 150 film/tv acting credits to his name, it seems he made the right choice.
At some point in our conversation my parents' curiosity got the better of them and sparked the following exchange:
DAD: Have I seen your work? JAMES: Well, I have done quite a bit of film and television. MOM: Oh yeah? I thought the back of your head looked familiar! (BEAT) JAMES: I've never gotten that before. MOM: What shows were you on? James Avery doesn't want to say this... JAMES: I played Will Smith's father on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." I smile and nod my head. MOM: Huh. (No recognition) DAD: Huh. (No recognition)
It was shortly after this awkward moment that we went back to eating our respective meals in silence.
Los Angeles is a big city and the possibility of "making it" often seems so remote that it is very easy to lose sight of what you want most. A simple example from my life this evening:
